The Black Death Plague in China in the 1300sThe cause of the black death was only recently hypothesized and proven to be the Yersinia pestis with scientific advancement made in the 18th and 19th centuries. The pandemic that wiped out the Chinese population from 120 to 60 million people is now recognized as the bubonic plague. In the 19th century, the epidemics that riddled Asia, the Middle East, and Europe

..To speak to or go near the sick brought infection and a common death... To touch the clothes (which) the sick had touched or worn gave the disease to the person touching" (Williams, 167). This description is quite accurate, yet even well-educated and enlightened Boccaccio himself did not know how the plague was spread from one person to another. It is also true that the plague bacillus could be spread

This suffering was not exclusive to the lower classes with all social groups being affected. Outbreaks of bubonic plague were a regular feature of the Medieval Period though never as severe. Those who survived the plague were compelled to adjust to a new social and economic reality. Such a multitude of people had perished that a severe shortage of labor ensued which improved wages and living conditions for urban

Laborers began to demand a wage for their efforts, which led to the rise of a money-based economy as opposed to the earlier land-based economy (middle-ages.org). Europeans in the middle ages tended to be superstitious in their religious beliefs. As they searched for something or someone to blame for the wrath of the plague, all of their praying and blind faith did not protect them from being infected. Comets, earthquakes, astrological

Black Death in 14th Century Europe Pivot Point In History causes and effects in history 20/20 HISTORICAL HINDSIGHT The Black Death of the middle 14th Century in Europe was a major pivot point in History. Three ways it was a turning point can be seen through social hierarchy, the Roman Catholic Church and Medicine. Social hierarchy, the Church and Medicine were all different before the Black Death, they all failed during the Black Death,

As feudalism altered, it changed many other aspects of change and social standing. A historian notes, "As you move away from feudalism, the lord stops eating with everybody and goes to a private chamber and eats with his family, creating the beginnings of family life as opposed to courtly life. And houses change to reflect that the halls shrink and eventually disappear" (Sargent 2007, 114). There were slightly greater